# MarTech Roundup

> Independent, sourced news, analysis and reference for marketing technology (martech): vendors, products, technologies, a dated market timeline and stack tools. Each article says what changed, why it matters and what marketers should do next, and lists its sources.

Coverage: martech vendors and products, AI agents, answer engine optimization (AEO), customer data platforms, marketing automation, advertising technology, analytics, content platforms and the privacy rules that affect them.

How the content is produced and how to use it:
- Articles open with an "In 60 seconds" summary and an impact section (what changed, why it matters, who is affected, effect on the stack, what to watch).
- Every article and timeline entry lists its sources. Statements that come from a vendor are attributed to that vendor, and our own analysis is labelled as such.
- AI assistance is disclosed on the pages where it was used. See the editorial and AI policy for how errors are corrected.
- Where a deal or launch had not been confirmed as complete in the sources reviewed, the page says so. Check the page date and sources before relying on a figure.
- Please cite as "MarTech Roundup" and link to the page you used (https://martechroundup.com).
- Last content update: 2026-10-21.

## About and policies

- [About MarTech Roundup](https://martechroundup.com/about/): What MarTech Roundup covers, how the site is organized and how we work: sourced news, analysis, directories and tools for marketing technology.
- [Editorial and AI policy](https://martechroundup.com/editorial-policy/): How MarTech Roundup sources its claims, labels vendor statements and AI assistance, corrects errors and keeps sponsored content apart from editorial.

## News and analysis

- [ExpressVPN research finds Google Trends scores differ by IP address in about 60% of weekly checks over a year](https://martechroundup.com/news/expressvpn-research-finds-google-trends-scores-differ-by-ip-address-in-60-percent-of-weekly-checks-for-a-year-window/): (2026-10-21) ExpressVPN finds Google Trends scores differ by IP in about 60% of weekly checks over a year. VPN vendor; causes unknown.
- [Cloudflare says its WAF blocked “php2shell” exploit attempts from 3:02 UTC, hours before the PHP flaws were public](https://martechroundup.com/news/cloudflare-says-its-waf-blocked-php2shell-exploit-attempts-from-3-02-utc-hours-before-the-php-flaws-were-public/): (2026-10-21) Cloudflare says its WAF blocked php2shell exploit attempts from 3:02 UTC, hours before the PHP flaws were public. Vendor claims.
- [PHP servers face two critical flaws rated 9.2 that allow unauthenticated code execution; fixes are in 8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36 and 8.2.35](https://martechroundup.com/news/php-servers-face-two-critical-flaws-rated-9-2-by-cert-eu-that-let-unauthenticated-attackers-run-code-patched-in-versions-8-5-12-8-4-27-8-3-36-and-8-2-35/): (2026-10-21) CERT-EU rates two PHP flaws 9.2, allowing unauthenticated code execution. Fixes are in 8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36 and 8.2.35.
- [Chartbeat: search fell from 21% to 12% of North American publisher pageviews in a year](https://martechroundup.com/news/chartbeat-says-search-fell-from-21-percent-to-12-percent-of-north-american-publisher-pageviews-in-a-year/): (2026-10-21) Chartbeat says search fell from 21% to 12% of North American publisher pageviews in a year. Nine of ten regions declined.
- [Google: robots.txt is an “access-preference protocol” that does not control what a system does with data already crawled](https://martechroundup.com/news/google-says-robots-txt-is-an-access-preference-protocol-that-does-not-control-what-a-system-does-with-data-it-already-crawled/): (2026-10-21) Google says robots.txt does not control what a system does with data it already crawled. Block AI crawlers by user-agent token.
- [Ad fraud researcher Augustine Fou says the $63 billion invalid traffic estimate undercounts fraud on CPM ads](https://martechroundup.com/news/ad-fraud-researcher-augustine-fou-says-the-63-billion-invalid-traffic-estimate-undercounts-fraud-on-cpm-ads/): (2026-10-21) Augustine Fou argues the $63bn invalid traffic figure misses impression fraud on CPM buys. He offers no alternative figure.
- [Netflix cuts its 2026 ad revenue expectation to about $2.7 billion from $3 billion, citing slower ad product rollouts](https://martechroundup.com/news/netflix-cuts-its-2026-ad-revenue-expectation-to-about-2-7-billion-from-3-billion-citing-slower-ad-product-and-partner-rollouts/): (2026-10-21) Netflix lowers its 2026 ad revenue expectation to about $2.7bn from $3bn, citing slower ad product and partner rollouts.
- [The Trade Desk buyers gain third-party data targeting on Netflix ads from November; Netflix expands its Conversion API](https://martechroundup.com/news/the-trade-desk-buyers-gain-third-party-data-targeting-on-netflix-ads-from-november-and-netflix-expands-its-conversion-api/): (2026-10-21) The Trade Desk buyers gain third-party and first-party data targeting on Netflix ads from November; Netflix expands its Conversion API.
- [WebKit says Safari 27 blocks network access to third parties that turn email addresses into persistent IDs](https://martechroundup.com/news/webkit-says-safari-27-blocks-network-access-to-third-parties-that-turn-email-addresses-into-persistent-ids/): (2026-10-21) WebKit says Safari 27 blocks third parties that turn email addresses into persistent IDs. Apple names no companies.
- [Citizen Lab: targeted ads delivered Candiru spyware to at least 45 devices through an ad tech vendor Google had listed](https://martechroundup.com/news/citizen-lab-says-targeted-ads-bought-through-an-ad-vendor-delivered-candiru-spyware-to-at-least-45-devices-without-a-click/): (2026-10-21) Citizen Lab says targeted ads bought via an ad vendor delivered Candiru spyware to 45 Al Jazeera devices without a click.
- [Kochava says CTV comes before search in 96% of installs that touch both, in a guide with inconsistent figures](https://martechroundup.com/news/kochava-says-ctv-comes-before-search-in-96-percent-of-app-installs-that-touch-both-in-a-guide-with-inconsistent-figures/): (2026-10-21) Kochava says CTV comes before search in 96% of install journeys touching both. PPC Land found gaps and inconsistencies.
- [Reddit adds a campaign planner, optimization score and budget optimization, citing 19.6% lower CPA at 80%+ scores](https://martechroundup.com/news/reddit-adds-a-campaign-planner-optimization-score-and-budget-optimization-citing-19-6-percent-lower-cpa-for-80-percent-scores/): (2026-10-21) Reddit adds a campaign planner, optimization score and budget optimization, citing 19.6% lower CPA at scores of 80%+.
- [Meta case study credits Nest Commerce’s AI creative with 20% higher conversion rates, with no baseline or period](https://martechroundup.com/news/meta-case-study-credits-nest-commerces-ai-creative-with-20-percent-higher-conversion-rates-but-gives-no-baseline-or-period/): (2026-10-21) Meta's case study credits Nest Commerce's AI creative with 20% higher conversion rates. No baseline, period or control group.
- [OpenAI will turn on automatic “creative enhancements” for ChatGPT ad campaigns by default from October 30](https://martechroundup.com/news/openai-will-turn-on-automatic-creative-enhancements-for-chatgpt-ad-campaigns-by-default-from-october-30/): (2026-10-21) From October 30, OpenAI turns on automatic creative enhancements for ChatGPT ad campaigns. Advertisers can opt out.
- [OpenAI says ChatGPT ads now sell in 89 countries after adding 26 markets, with over 100,000 advertisers so far](https://martechroundup.com/news/openai-says-chatgpt-ads-now-sell-in-89-countries-after-adding-26-markets-and-reports-over-100000-advertisers/): (2026-10-21) OpenAI says ChatGPT ads now sell in 89 countries after adding 26 markets, and over 100,000 advertisers have run campaigns.
- [MarTech Conference panel on November 4 asks how to engineer consent beyond the opt-in click](https://martechroundup.com/news/martech-conference-panel-on-november-4-asks-how-to-engineer-consent-beyond-the-opt-in-click-with-preference-management/): (2026-10-21) A MarTech Conference panel on November 4 asks how to engineer consent beyond the opt-in click. Event promotion, no data.
- [HubSpot’s Unbound 2026 recap: Agent Hub, HubSpot Work and Marketing Studio, with many features using credits](https://martechroundup.com/news/hubspots-unbound-2026-recap-agent-hub-hubspot-work-and-marketing-studio-reach-beta-or-launch-with-many-features-using-credits/): (2026-10-21) MarTech's recap: Agent Hub, HubSpot Work, Campaign and Nurture agents, with credit prices for AI features.
- [Sponsored: SAP loyalty index says 60% of consumers want shared control with AI, and 30% have switched brands over AI use](https://martechroundup.com/news/sponsored-sap-loyalty-index-says-60-percent-of-consumers-want-shared-control-with-ai-and-45-percent-of-gen-z-switched-brands-over-ai-use/): (2026-10-21) SAP's sponsored index: 60% of consumers want shared control with AI and 30% have switched brands over AI use.
- [Viewpoint: email marketing’s history can guide AI governance, with attribution, accuracy and authenticity as principles](https://martechroundup.com/news/viewpoint-email-marketings-history-can-guide-ai-governance-with-attribution-accuracy-and-authenticity-as-principles/): (2026-10-21) A MarTech column says email's two-decade code of conduct offers lessons for AI governance: attribution, accuracy, authenticity.
- [MarTech analysis: will Salesforce’s Braze deal bring clarity or chaos, with a 58% premium and no proven outcome yet](https://martechroundup.com/news/martech-analysis-will-salesforces-braze-deal-bring-clarity-or-chaos-with-a-58-percent-premium-and-no-proven-customer-outcome-yet/): (2026-10-21) MarTech's analysis: the $47.50 offer is about 58% above Braze's prior close, and integration benefits are plans, not outcomes.
- [Viewpoint: chasing small performance gains has a creative cost, and metrics should only stay if they change a decision](https://martechroundup.com/news/viewpoint-chasing-small-performance-gains-has-a-creative-cost-and-metrics-should-only-stay-if-they-change-a-decision/): (2026-10-21) A MarTech column argues chasing small metric differences narrows creative work; keep only metrics that change a decision.
- [Google Ads rewrites its Smart Bidding learning document and says the learning status “never lasts more than 7 days”](https://martechroundup.com/news/google-ads-rewrites-its-smart-bidding-learning-document-and-says-the-learning-status-never-lasts-more-than-7-days/): (2026-10-21) Google rewrote its Smart Bidding learning doc: Learning status "never lasts more than 7 days". Counting rules unstated.
- [Google Ads may be rolling out a “Save and test asset group changes” toggle that runs edits as an A/B test](https://martechroundup.com/news/google-ads-may-be-rolling-out-a-save-and-test-asset-group-changes-toggle-that-runs-edits-as-an-a-b-test/): (2026-10-21) Google Ads may offer a "Save and test asset group changes" toggle that runs edits as an A/B test. Unconfirmed.
- [Viewpoint: the next great marketing leaders will design how work gets done, because AI moved the bottleneck upstream](https://martechroundup.com/news/viewpoint-the-next-great-marketing-leaders-will-design-how-work-gets-done-because-ai-moved-the-bottleneck-upstream/): (2026-10-21) A MarTech column says AI moved the bottleneck upstream to intake, decisions and handoffs. Map one workflow end to end.
- [Viewpoint: adding AI or headcount won’t fix a marketing skills gap, citing Gartner and an Optimizely-commissioned study](https://martechroundup.com/news/viewpoint-adding-ai-or-headcount-will-not-fix-a-marketing-skills-gap-citing-gartner-and-an-optimizely-commissioned-study/): (2026-10-21) A MarTech column cites Gartner and an Optimizely study: 76% spend 3+ hours weekly correcting AI output. Fix skills first.
- [Arkose Labs: 97.7% of legitimate AI agent sessions carry no verified Web Bot Auth signature](https://martechroundup.com/news/arkose-labs-says-97-7-percent-of-legitimate-ai-agent-sessions-carry-no-verified-web-bot-auth-signature/): (2026-10-21) Arkose Labs says 97.7% of legitimate AI agent sessions carry no verified Web Bot Auth signature. Vendor data.
- [Sensor Tower estimates Meta’s Muse passed 10 million US downloads in 40 days, with 2.5 million daily users](https://martechroundup.com/news/sensor-tower-estimates-metas-muse-passed-10-million-us-downloads-in-40-days-with-2-5-million-daily-users/): (2026-10-21) Sensor Tower estimates Meta's Muse passed 10 million US downloads in 40 days, with 2.5 million daily US users.
- [Akamai report: 47% of enterprise AI conversations run on personal accounts, repackaging LayerX data from May](https://martechroundup.com/news/akamai-report-says-47-percent-of-enterprise-ai-conversations-run-on-personal-accounts-repackaging-layerx-data-from-may/): (2026-10-21) Akamai's report says 47.11% of enterprise AI conversations run on personal accounts. Data repackages May's LayerX study.
- [Meta pauses sharing for its Muse agent after researchers found 6,800 share links in public DNS records](https://martechroundup.com/news/meta-pauses-sharing-for-its-muse-agent-after-researchers-found-6800-share-links-in-public-dns-records/): (2026-10-21) Meta paused Muse sharing after Claroc found 6,800 share links, with chat titles in hostnames, in public DNS records.
- [OpenAI says GPT-5.6 Sol helped find a PHP flaw before attackers did; Cloudflare says attack traffic had already started](https://martechroundup.com/news/openai-says-a-gpt-5-6-sol-assisted-finding-led-to-fixes-for-two-critical-php-flaws-before-attackers-used-them/): (2026-10-21) OpenAI says GPT-5.6 Sol helped find a critical PHP flaw before attackers; Cloudflare says attack traffic had already begun.
- [GrowthLoop and Ascend2 survey: 85% of advertisers plan more retail media spend, but 86% would cut over slow audience delivery](https://martechroundup.com/news/ascend2-and-growthloop-survey-85-percent-of-advertisers-plan-more-retail-media-spend-but-86-percent-would-cut-spend-over-slow-audiences/): (2026-10-21) A GrowthLoop and Ascend2 survey: 85% plan more retail media spend, but 86% would cut it over slow audience delivery.
- [European Commission opens DSA proceedings against Booking.com over fake listings, phishing risks and unlabelled paid rankings](https://martechroundup.com/news/european-commission-opens-dsa-proceedings-against-booking-com-over-fake-listings-phishing-risks-and-paid-rankings-not-labelled-as-ads/): (2026-10-21) The European Commission opened DSA proceedings against Booking.com over fake listings, phishing risks and unlabelled paid rankings.
- [SHEIN survey of 24,863 app customers says 61% put themselves first on holiday lists](https://martechroundup.com/news/shein-survey-of-24863-app-customers-says-61-percent-put-themselves-first-on-holiday-lists-ahead-of-a-year-end-sale/): (2026-10-21) SHEIN's survey of 24,863 US app customers says 61% put themselves first on holiday lists. It describes SHEIN's own audience.
- [Google Merchant Center help page now lists fast shipping delivery times for eight countries, from one to four days](https://martechroundup.com/news/google-merchant-center-help-page-now-lists-expected-fast-shipping-delivery-times-for-eight-countries-from-one-to-four-days/): (2026-10-21) Google's Merchant Center page now lists expected fast shipping delivery times for eight countries, from one to four days.
- [Meta will turn on in-app product browsing for existing Facebook and Instagram ads on October 28 unless advertisers opt out](https://martechroundup.com/news/meta-will-turn-on-in-app-product-browsing-for-existing-facebook-and-instagram-ads-on-october-28-unless-advertisers-opt-out/): (2026-10-21) Meta will turn on in-app product browsing for existing Facebook and Instagram ads on October 28 unless advertisers opt out.
- [Podcast summary: with over half of consumers reportedly ignoring surveys, voice of customer programs need rethinking, a vendor GM says](https://martechroundup.com/news/podcast-summary-over-half-of-consumers-stop-responding-to-surveys-so-voice-of-customer-programs-need-rethinking-says-quantum-metrics-gm/): (2026-10-21) A podcast summary says over half of consumers stop answering surveys and VoC programs need rethinking. Vendor guest; no source cited.
- [Microsoft Contact Center Intelligence enters public preview to add AI agents to contact centres it does not own](https://martechroundup.com/news/microsoft-contact-center-intelligence-enters-public-preview-to-add-ai-agents-to-contact-centres-it-does-not-own/): (2026-10-21) Microsoft CCI enters public preview, adding AI agents to contact centres it does not own, such as Genesys or Cisco.
- [Zoom announces a Unified Context Layer that gives human and AI agents a shared view of customer history](https://martechroundup.com/news/zoom-announces-a-unified-context-layer-that-gives-human-and-ai-agents-a-shared-view-of-customer-history/): (2026-10-21) Zoom's Unified Context Layer gives human and AI agents a shared view of customer history. Customer Profiles arrive in November.
- [Invoca launches AI agents that book patient appointments in Epic and four other EHRs and send de-identified results to ad platforms](https://martechroundup.com/news/invoca-launches-ai-agents-that-book-patient-appointments-in-epic-and-four-other-ehrs-and-send-de-identified-results-to-ad-platforms/): (2026-10-21) Invoca AI agents book appointments in Epic and four other EHRs and send de-identified results to ad platforms. Method not stated.
- [Yelp prices Smart Lead Reply, an AI agent that answers and qualifies leads, at $30 a month from November](https://martechroundup.com/news/yelp-prices-smart-lead-reply-an-ai-agent-that-answers-and-qualifies-leads-at-30-dollars-a-month-from-november/): (2026-10-21) Yelp's Smart Lead Reply, an AI agent that answers and qualifies leads, costs $30 a month from November. Accuracy not stated.
- [TransUnion and Fiserv launch Transaction Matching to tie in-store card payments to persistent customer identities](https://martechroundup.com/news/transunion-and-fiserv-launch-transaction-matching-to-tie-in-store-card-payments-to-persistent-customer-identities/): (2026-10-21) TransUnion and Fiserv launch Transaction Matching, tying in-store card payments to customer identities. No match rate given.
- [UK ICO calls for evidence on agentic AI, with responses due November 20 and an adtech report planned](https://martechroundup.com/news/uk-ico-calls-for-evidence-on-agentic-ai-with-responses-due-november-20-and-an-adtech-report-planned-for-later-in-2026/): (2026-10-21) The UK ICO's call for evidence on agentic AI closes November 20, and an adtech report is planned later in 2026.
- [Germany’s top civil court sets aside four Dresden rulings in SCHUFA credit score disclosure cases and sends them back](https://martechroundup.com/news/germanys-federal-court-of-justice-sets-aside-four-dresden-rulings-in-schufa-credit-score-disclosure-cases-and-sends-them-back/): (2026-10-21) Germany's BGH set aside four Dresden rulings on SCHUFA score disclosure, finding Article 22 GDPR applies. Reasons unpublished.
- [Berlin data protection authority finds four German parties broke GDPR with Facebook political targeting, noyb reports](https://martechroundup.com/news/berlin-data-protection-authority-finds-four-german-parties-broke-gdpr-with-facebook-political-targeting-noyb-reports/): (2026-10-21) Berlin's authority found four German parties had no legal basis for 2021 Facebook political-interest targeting, noyb reports.
- [New Mexico judge orders Meta to pay $25 billion over misleading statements about Facebook, with interest accruing on appeal](https://martechroundup.com/news/new-mexico-judge-orders-meta-to-pay-25-billion-over-misleading-statements-about-facebook-privacy-and-safety/): (2026-10-21) A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25bn after jurors found over 43 million violations. Meta plans to appeal.
- [Optmyzr analysis of 5,886 Google Ads accounts: seasonality adjustments raised CPCs 34% and cut ROAS 15.7% in BFCM 2024](https://martechroundup.com/news/optmyzr-analysis-of-5886-google-ads-accounts-says-seasonality-adjustments-raised-cpcs-34-percent-and-cut-roas-15-7-percent-in-bfcm-2024/): (2026-10-21) Optmyzr's analysis of 5,886 Google Ads accounts says BFCM 2024 seasonality adjustments raised CPCs 34% and cut ROAS 15.7%.
- [Viewpoint: incrementality testing gives marketers the confidence to move budgets and aligns them with finance](https://martechroundup.com/news/viewpoint-incrementality-testing-gives-marketers-the-confidence-to-move-budgets-and-aligns-marketing-with-finance/): (2026-10-21) A MarTech column argues incrementality testing gives confidence to move budgets and aligns marketing with finance. Hypothetical numbers.
- [VAB infographic says premium video platforms beat YouTube on CTV co-viewing by 33%, without naming the data source](https://martechroundup.com/news/vab-infographic-says-premium-video-platforms-beat-youtube-on-ctv-co-viewing-by-33-percent-without-naming-the-data-source/): (2026-10-21) VAB's infographic says premium platforms beat YouTube on CTV co-viewing by 33%, omitting TVision and session thresholds.
- [Comscore and TuneIn State of Audio 2026: July audio minutes fell about 36 billion from a year earlier in the report’s own chart](https://martechroundup.com/news/comscore-and-tunein-state-of-audio-2026-july-audio-minutes-fell-about-36-billion-from-a-year-earlier-in-the-reports-own-chart/): (2026-10-21) Comscore and TuneIn's audio report leads with growth but its own chart shows July minutes about 36 billion below a year earlier.
- [Comscore Score Report: streaming had 22.3% of US TV ad exposure time in August, up from 16.1% a year earlier](https://martechroundup.com/news/comscore-score-report-streaming-had-22-3-percent-of-us-tv-ad-exposure-time-in-august-up-from-16-1-percent-a-year-earlier/): (2026-10-21) Comscore's first Score Report puts streaming at 22.3% of US TV ad exposure time in August, up from 16.1% a year earlier.

## Technology guides

- [Affiliate marketing](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/affiliate-marketing/): Affiliate marketing pays partners a commission for visits, signups or sales. Definition, pay models, history and risks.
- [AI Agents](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/ai-agents/): AI agents plan and carry out tasks toward a goal, often by calling other tools. What they are, which martech vendors ship them and how they are priced.
- [AI Assistant Advertising](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/ai-assistant-advertising/): AI assistant advertising places paid messages inside AI answers. What ChatGPT Ads offers today, how buying and measurement work, and what to watch.
- [AI-Powered Paid Search](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/ai-powered-paid-search/): AI-powered paid search lets machine learning pick queries, assets and landing pages. Google's move from DSA to AI Max, with a timeline.
- [Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/answer-engine-optimization/): Answer engine optimization (AEO), also called GEO, makes sure AI assistants describe your brand accurately. Definition, vendors, products and news.
- [Connected TV (CTV) advertising](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/connected-tv-advertising/): CTV advertising sells ads on internet-connected TVs and streaming devices. Definition, measurement, recent Netflix and Comscore news.
- [Consent Management](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/consent-management/): Consent management records and respects people's choices on cookies and data use. Where EU rules stand in 2026 and what marketers should do now.
- [Conversion rate optimization (CRO)](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/conversion-rate-optimization/): CRO is the process of raising the share of visitors who complete a desired action. Definition, methods, history and limits.
- [CRM](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/crm/): CRM software stores customer and prospect records, interactions and deals. How CRMs are adding AI agents, with vendors, products and coverage.
- [Customer Data Platform (CDP)](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/customer-data-platform/): A CDP unifies customer data into profiles other tools can use. How CDPs are moving onto the lakehouse, with vendors, products and coverage.
- [Data Clean Rooms](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/data-clean-rooms/): A data clean room lets organizations analyze combined data without exposing records to each other. The IAB Tech Lab standards, vendors and how it is used.
- [Data Lakehouse](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/data-lakehouse/): A data lakehouse combines low-cost storage with warehouse-style management. Why marketing tools are being built to run on it, with news and vendors.
- [Digital Commerce Platforms](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/digital-commerce-platforms/): Digital commerce platforms run an online store. Open-source versus SaaS, the main products, and why marketers care about their data.
- [Experimentation and A/B Testing](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/experimentation-and-ab-testing/): A/B testing compares two versions at random to learn which performs better. How it works, its statistical limits and where it fits in measurement.
- [Generative AI](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/generative-ai/): Generative AI produces text, images and code from a prompt. What it is, how it changed marketing tools and search, and the news that shaped it.
- [Headless CMS](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/headless-cms/): A headless CMS stores content as data and delivers it by API to any channel. Why it matters for AI agents, with vendors, deals and coverage.
- [Headless commerce](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/headless-commerce/): Headless commerce separates the storefront from the commerce back end through APIs. Definition, benefits, drawbacks and providers.
- [Identity Resolution](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/identity-resolution/): Identity resolution decides which records refer to the same person. Deterministic and probabilistic matching, privacy-preserving methods and who sells it.
- [Influencer marketing](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/influencer-marketing/): Influencer marketing uses endorsements from people with social influence. Definition, FTC disclosure, measurement and recent survey data.
- [Interactive voice response (IVR)](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/interactive-voice-response/): IVR automates phone menus and call routing with keypad or speech input. Definition, history, limits and why AI agents change it.
- [Location Intelligence](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/location-intelligence/): Location intelligence uses place and visit data to target ads and measure store visits. How it works, the Foursquare deal and the privacy issues.
- [Marketing Analytics and Measurement](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/marketing-analytics/): Marketing analytics attributes results to channels and campaigns. From Google Analytics 4 to measuring AI answers and AI ads: vendors and news.
- [Marketing Attribution](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/marketing-attribution/): Marketing attribution assigns credit for a sale to the touchpoints that led to it. Models, limits and how privacy changes have affected it.
- [Marketing Automation](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/marketing-automation/): Marketing automation runs email, nurture, scoring and campaign workflows. What it does, how AI is changing it and the vendors to know.
- [Marketing Mix Modeling](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/marketing-mix-modeling/): Marketing mix modeling estimates how each channel contributes to sales from aggregate data. How it works, its limits, and Google's open-source Meridian.
- [Model Context Protocol (MCP)](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/model-context-protocol/): MCP is an open standard for connecting AI applications to tools and data. Definition, adoption, security issues and martech use.
- [Native and Content-Discovery Advertising](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/native-content-discovery-advertising/): Native advertising places paid recommendations styled like the content around them. How it works, who sells it and the Taboola and Dianomi deal.
- [Personalization](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/personalization/): Personalization tailors messages and experiences to a person using behavior and preferences. How it works, the vendors and the risks.
- [Programmatic Advertising](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/programmatic-advertising/): Programmatic advertising buys and sells ads through automated auctions. How real-time bidding works, who takes part, its scale and its concerns.
- [Retail Media](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/retail-media/): Retail media is advertising sold by retailers using shopper data. What it is, how measurement works and why first-party data drives its growth.
- [Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/retrieval-augmented-generation/): RAG lets language models pull in external documents before answering. Definition, benefits, limits and why it matters to marketers.
- [Reverse ETL](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/reverse-etl/): Reverse ETL copies customer data from a warehouse into marketing tools. How it works and why it underpins the composable customer data platform.
- [Server-side tagging](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/server-side-tagging/): Server-side tagging runs measurement tags on a server you control. Definition, stated benefits, tag gateway and consent considerations.
- [Web Bot Auth](https://martechroundup.com/technologies/web-bot-auth/): Web Bot Auth uses HTTP message signatures so sites can verify bots and AI agents. How it works, status and adoption.

## Vendors

- [Adobe](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/adobe/): Adobe is a software company, headquartered in San Jose, California, whose enterprise offering includes Experience Manager, Experience Platform and Commerce.
- [Amplitude](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/amplitude/): Amplitude is a San Francisco digital analytics company for product and marketing teams, listed on Nasdaq as AMPL. Facts and latest coverage.
- [Braze](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/braze/): Braze is a customer engagement platform founded in 2011 as Appboy, listed on Nasdaq as BRZE. Facts, scale and latest coverage.
- [Contentful](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/contentful/): Contentful is a headless content platform that Salesforce agreed to acquire in 2026. Products, technologies and the latest coverage.
- [Criteo](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/criteo/): Criteo is a Paris-founded ad tech company on Nasdaq as CRTO. Profile, 2025 figures, retail media, CNIL fine and coverage.
- [Databricks](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/databricks/): Databricks is a data and AI company, headquartered in San Francisco. Products, technologies and latest coverage.
- [Dianomi](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/dianomi/): Dianomi is an advertising network focused on financial advertisers, working with more than 600 advertisers and publishers. Latest coverage on MarTech Roundup.
- [Flamel.ai](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/flamel-ai/): Flamel.ai runs localized paid advertising campaigns across Google, Meta and ChatGPT. Yext signed a definitive agreement to acquire it in September 2026.
- [Foursquare](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/foursquare/): Foursquare is a location-data company, headquartered in New York, that says it has 100 million points of interest in 200 countries.
- [Genesys](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/genesys/): Genesys is a private contact centre and CX software company founded in 1990. Profile, owners, products, deals and coverage.
- [Google](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/google/): Google is a technology company, headquartered in Mountain View, California, whose advertising products include Google Ads and Google Analytics.
- [Hootsuite](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/hootsuite/): Hootsuite is a Vancouver social media management and listening company founded in 2008. Profile, funding, deals and coverage.
- [HubSpot](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/hubspot/): HubSpot is a customer platform company, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that sells CRM, marketing, sales and service software.
- [Infillion](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/infillion/): Infillion is an advertising technology and measurement company. In September 2026 it announced plans to acquire the location-data company Foursquare.
- [Informatica](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/informatica/): Informatica is an enterprise data management company in Redwood City that Salesforce completed acquiring in November 2025. Facts and coverage.
- [Klaviyo](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/klaviyo/): Klaviyo is a Boston marketing and customer data platform for online brands, listed on the NYSE as KVYO. Facts, scale and latest coverage.
- [LiveRamp](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/liveramp/): LiveRamp is a San Francisco data connectivity and clean-room company that Publicis agreed to acquire in 2026. Facts, products and coverage.
- [Mailchimp](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/mailchimp/): Mailchimp is an Atlanta email and marketing platform founded in 2001 that Intuit bought for about $12 billion in 2021. Facts and coverage.
- [OpenAI](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/openai/): OpenAI is an artificial intelligence company, headquartered in San Francisco, and the maker of ChatGPT. Products, technologies and latest coverage.
- [Optimizely](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/optimizely/): Optimizely is a digital experience platform vendor that grew from A/B testing and merged with Episerver in 2020. Facts and latest coverage.
- [Phave](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/phave/): Phave is a marketing automation company founded by Jon Miller, a co-founder of Marketo and Engagio, and Nick Bonfiglio, formerly of Marketo.
- [Pipedrive](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/pipedrive/): Pipedrive is a sales CRM founded in Tallinn in 2010 and majority owned by Vista Equity Partners. Profile, funding, product and coverage.
- [Profound](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/profound/): Profound sells an AI-visibility platform and raised a $96M Series C at a $1B valuation in 2026. Products, technologies and coverage.
- [Salesforce](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/salesforce/): Salesforce is a customer relationship management (CRM) software company, headquartered in San Francisco. Products, technologies and latest coverage.
- [Scrunch](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/scrunch/): Scrunch sells software that helps brands appear accurately in AI answers; its AXP product serves more than 500 brands and agencies, according to Sitecore.
- [Semrush](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/semrush/): Semrush is a search and brand-visibility software company with more than 28 million users, according to Adobe. Products, technologies and latest coverage.
- [Shopify](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/shopify/): Shopify is an Ottawa commerce platform with 2025 revenue of $11.6bn. Profile, products, Universal Commerce Protocol and coverage.
- [Sitecore](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/sitecore/): Sitecore is a digital experience platform vendor. Products, technologies and latest coverage.
- [Snowflake](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/snowflake/): Snowflake is a cloud data platform listed on the NYSE as SNOW, used as the warehouse behind composable CDPs and data sharing. Facts and coverage.
- [Sprinklr](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/sprinklr/): Sprinklr is a New York CXM software company listed on the NYSE as CXM. Profile, IPO, 2025 revenue, product suites and coverage.
- [Taboola](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/taboola/): Taboola is a New York-based advertising company that places ads on publisher sites through its Realize platform. Products, technologies and latest coverage.
- [The Trade Desk](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/the-trade-desk/): The Trade Desk is a Ventura, California advertising technology company with a self-serve demand-side platform, listed as TTD. Facts and coverage.
- [Twilio](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/twilio/): Twilio is a San Francisco communications platform company that owns SendGrid and bought Segment in 2020. Facts, leadership and latest coverage.
- [Wix](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/wix/): Wix is a Tel Aviv website platform on Nasdaq as WIX with over 260 million registered users. Profile, products, figures and coverage.
- [Yext](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/yext/): Yext is a New York-based company that sells a platform for managing business information and local presence across search and AI.
- [Zendesk](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/zendesk/): Zendesk is a San Francisco customer service software company founded in 2007, taken private in 2022. Profile, products, deals and coverage.
- [Zeotap](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/zeotap/): Zeotap is a customer data platform vendor that launched Open CDP on the customer's own lakehouse in 2026. Products and latest coverage.
- [Zoom](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/zoom/): Zoom Communications was founded by Eric Yuan in 2011 and now sells contact centre and CX products. Profile, figures and coverage.
- [ZoomInfo](https://martechroundup.com/vendors/zoominfo/): ZoomInfo sells B2B contact and company data and a go-to-market platform. Profile, 2025 figures, products, acquisitions and coverage.

## Products

- [Adobe Experience Manager](https://martechroundup.com/products/adobe-experience-manager/): Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) is Adobe's content and asset management cloud service with Sites, Assets, Forms and Edge Delivery. Overview.
- [Adobe LLM Optimizer](https://martechroundup.com/products/adobe-llm-optimizer/): Adobe LLM Optimizer is part of Adobe's brand-visibility offering. Alternatives, technologies and latest coverage.
- [Adobe Marketo Engage](https://martechroundup.com/products/adobe-marketo-engage/): Marketo Engage is Adobe's B2B marketing automation: omnichannel campaigns, lead scoring, CRM sync, attribution and AI. Overview and coverage.
- [Agentforce](https://martechroundup.com/products/agentforce/): Agentforce is Salesforce's platform for AI agents, unveiled on September 12, 2024. Alternatives, technologies and latest coverage.
- [Amplitude Analytics](https://martechroundup.com/products/amplitude-analytics/): Amplitude Analytics is a product and web analytics tool with funnels, retention and session replay, and a free Starter plan. Overview and news.
- [ChatGPT Ads](https://martechroundup.com/products/chatgpt-ads/): ChatGPT Ads is OpenAI's advertising product. Alternatives, technologies and latest coverage.
- [Databricks CustomerLake](https://martechroundup.com/products/databricks-customerlake/): CustomerLake is Databricks' agentic customer data platform built into its lakehouse and governed by Unity Catalog. Alternatives and latest coverage.
- [Genesys Cloud CX](https://martechroundup.com/products/genesys-cloud-cx/): Genesys Cloud CX, formerly PureCloud, is Genesys's microservices-based cloud contact centre on AWS. Product family and context.
- [Google Ads AI Max for Search](https://martechroundup.com/products/google-ads-ai-max/): AI Max is Google's AI-driven setup for Search campaigns. Alternatives, technologies and latest coverage.
- [Google Ads Performance Max](https://martechroundup.com/products/google-ads-performance-max/): Performance Max is a goal-based Google Ads campaign type that runs across YouTube, Display, Search, Discover, Gmail and Maps. Inputs, limits and news.
- [Google Analytics 4 (GA4)](https://martechroundup.com/products/google-analytics-4/): Google Analytics 4 measures websites and apps across devices, with a free version and a paid Analytics 360 tier. Overview, features and coverage.
- [Google Merchant Center](https://martechroundup.com/products/google-merchant-center/): Google Merchant Center is a free tool to list products on Google Search, Maps and YouTube. Features, account rules and recent changes.
- [Google Search Console](https://martechroundup.com/products/google-search-console/): Google Search Console measures Search traffic, flags issues and now reports AI Overviews impressions. Features, pricing and coverage.
- [Hootsuite platform](https://martechroundup.com/products/hootsuite-platform/): The Hootsuite platform covers publishing, social listening, analytics and a unified inbox, with AI writing tools. Features and claims.
- [HubSpot AEO](https://martechroundup.com/products/hubspot-aeo/): HubSpot AEO tracks a brand's visibility in answers from ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, using prompts drawn from CRM data. Alternatives and latest coverage.
- [HubSpot Marketing Hub](https://martechroundup.com/products/hubspot-marketing-hub/): HubSpot Marketing Hub is marketing automation on a CRM, with a free tier and paid editions. Features, AI agents, listed prices and coverage.
- [Optimizely One](https://martechroundup.com/products/optimizely-one/): Optimizely One combines content management, experimentation, personalization, analytics, commerce and an agent platform. Overview and coverage.
- [Phave](https://martechroundup.com/products/phave-marketing-automation/): Phave is an AI-native marketing automation platform. Its "Maestro" engine reasons about people, accounts and buying groups instead of following rules.
- [Pipedrive CRM](https://martechroundup.com/products/pipedrive-crm/): Pipedrive CRM is built around activity-based selling and includes the Nova meeting AI in all plans. Features, add-ons and pricing notes.
- [Profound](https://martechroundup.com/products/profound-platform/): Profound is an AI-visibility platform that the company says is used by more than 700 enterprises, including over 10% of the Fortune 500.
- [Salesforce Marketing Cloud](https://martechroundup.com/products/salesforce-marketing-cloud/): Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Marketing Cloud Next: agents, Data 360 and personalization across the customer lifecycle. Overview and coverage.
- [Scrunch AXP](https://martechroundup.com/products/scrunch-axp/): Scrunch AXP helps brands present accurate information to AI assistants. Alternatives, technologies and latest coverage.
- [Semrush](https://martechroundup.com/products/semrush-platform/): Semrush is a search and brand-visibility platform with more than 28 million users, according to Adobe, which completed its acquisition on April 28, 2026.
- [Shopify Plus](https://martechroundup.com/products/shopify-plus/): Shopify Plus, launched in 2014, is Shopify's platform for large businesses with headless options and B2B. Features and vendor figures.
- [Sprinklr Unified-CXM platform](https://martechroundup.com/products/sprinklr-unified-cxm/): Sprinklr's platform has 33 products in four suites, Service, Insights, Social and Marketing, plus AI Studio. What it lists and claims.
- [The Trade Desk Kokai](https://martechroundup.com/products/the-trade-desk-kokai/): Kokai is The Trade Desk's AI media-buying platform, launched June 6, 2023 and extended by Kokai Zuma in 2026. Features and coverage.
- [Twilio Segment](https://martechroundup.com/products/twilio-segment/): Twilio Segment is a customer data platform that collects first-party data and routes it to 550+ destinations. Capabilities, scale and coverage.
- [Yext Scout](https://martechroundup.com/products/yext-scout/): Yext Scout is part of Yext's agentic marketing platform, named in its September 2026 announcement of the Flamel.ai deal. Latest coverage.
- [Zendesk customer service software](https://martechroundup.com/products/zendesk-customer-service/): Zendesk's service product spans ticketing, AI agents, Copilot, quality assurance and workforce management. Features and vendor claims.
- [Zeotap Open CDP](https://martechroundup.com/products/zeotap-open-cdp/): Zeotap Open CDP, launched on September 15, 2026, runs on Apache Spark and Iceberg in the customer's own lakehouse. Alternatives and latest coverage.
- [Zoom Contact Center](https://martechroundup.com/products/zoom-contact-center/): Zoom Contact Center is a cloud contact centre with Virtual Agent and AI Expert Assist. Channels, plans and what the vendor claims.
- [ZoomInfo GTM platform](https://martechroundup.com/products/zoominfo-gtm-platform/): The ZoomInfo GTM platform combines B2B data, intent signals, ABM and workflows. Products listed, integrations and vendor claims.

## Market timeline

- [New Mexico judge orders Meta to pay $25 billion over Facebook statements](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/new-mexico-judge-orders-meta-to-pay-25-billion/): (2026-10-21) On October 21, 2026 a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25bn over statements about Facebook. Verdict, figures and appeal.
- [OpenAI expands ChatGPT ads to 89 countries](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/chatgpt-ads-reach-89-countries/): (2026-10-21) On October 21, 2026 OpenAI said ChatGPT ads sell in 89 countries after adding 26 markets, with over 100,000 advertisers so far.
- [PHP releases fixes for two critical remote code execution flaws](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/php-releases-fixes-for-two-critical-flaws/): (2026-10-21) On October 21, 2026 PHP released fixes for two flaws rated 9.2 that allow remote code execution. Versions, responses and gaps.
- [Salesforce agrees to buy Braze for about $5.66 billion](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/salesforce-agrees-to-buy-braze/): (2026-10-20) On October 20, 2026 Salesforce agreed to buy Braze for $47.50 a share in cash, about $5.66bn. Terms, figures and what is not stated.
- [Netflix cuts its 2026 ad revenue expectation to about $2.7 billion](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/netflix-cuts-2026-ad-revenue-expectation/): (2026-10-20) On October 20, 2026 Netflix cut its 2026 ad revenue expectation to about $2.7bn, citing slower product and partner rollouts.
- [FTC accepts consent order allowing Publicis to buy LiveRamp](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/ftc-accepts-consent-order-for-publicis-liveramp/): (2026-10-19) On October 19, 2026 the FTC accepted a consent order for Publicis buying LiveRamp, with neutrality and audit conditions for five years.
- [Google rolls out Universal Cart in US Search and Gemini](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/google-rolls-out-universal-cart-in-the-us/): (2026-10-15) On October 15, 2026 Google began rolling out Universal Cart in US Search and Gemini, with Google Pay checkout. Partners and gaps.
- [Citizen Lab reports spyware delivered through targeted ads](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/citizen-lab-reports-spyware-delivered-through-targeted-ads/): (2026-10-15) A Citizen Lab report dated October 15, 2026 says targeted ads delivered Candiru spyware to 45 devices without a click.
- [EDPB adopts a preliminary statement on smart glasses and the GDPR](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/edpb-adopts-statement-on-smart-glasses/): (2026-10-13) On October 13, 2026 the EDPB adopted a preliminary statement on smart glasses and the GDPR. Positions and what it does not do.
- [Norway fines Xandr NOK 92 million over Grindr users’ data](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/norway-fines-xandr-over-grindr-data/): (2026-10-12) Norway fined Microsoft's Xandr NOK 92m in a decision made public October 12, 2026, for handling Grindr users' data without consent.
- [HubSpot announces a restructuring affecting about 7% of staff](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/hubspot-announces-a-restructuring-affecting-about-7-percent-of-its-workforce/): (2026-10-06) HubSpot told the SEC that a plan approved October 1, 2026 affects about 7% of staff, costing $65 million to $75 million, with teams built around outcomes.
- [TikTok opens its ad network to US advertisers](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/tiktok-opens-its-ad-network-to-us-advertisers/): (2026-10-05) TikTok opened its Ad Network, formerly Pangle, to US advertisers on October 5, 2026, reaching about 400,000 apps, and announced shopping and lead tools.
- [Shopify introduces Canvas, a store design surface driven by Sidekick](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/shopify-introduces-canvas-a-store-design-surface-driven-by-sidekick/): (2026-10-01) Shopify launched Canvas on October 1, 2026, a workspace showing a whole store at once where merchants edit directly or ask Sidekick to change theme code.
- [Microsoft Advertising removes Max CPC from new campaigns](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/microsoft-advertising-removes-max-cpc-from-new-non-portfolio-campaigns/): (2026-10-01) From October 1, 2026 Microsoft Advertising no longer offers Max CPC when creating new non-portfolio campaigns with automated bidding. What stays and why.
- [Yext signs an agreement to acquire Flamel.ai](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/yext-signs-agreement-to-acquire-flamel-ai/): (2026-09-30) Yext signed a definitive agreement to acquire Flamel.ai, with closing expected in its fiscal fourth quarter of 2027, which ends January 31, 2027.
- [Google runs its September 2026 spam update for nearly 14 days](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/google-runs-its-september-2026-spam-update/): (2026-09-24) Google's September 2026 spam update began September 24 and ran 13 days and 16 hours, the longest of its four 2026 spam updates. What is and is not known.
- [Phave launches AI-native marketing automation](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/phave-launches-ai-native-marketing-automation/): (2026-09-23) Phave, founded by Marketo co-founder Jon Miller, launched a marketing automation platform built around an AI reasoning engine.
- [Infillion announces plans to acquire Foursquare](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/infillion-announces-plan-to-acquire-foursquare/): (2026-09-18) Infillion announced plans to acquire Foursquare. Terms and closing timing were not stated.
- [Taboola announces an offer to acquire Dianomi](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/taboola-announces-offer-to-acquire-dianomi/): (2026-09-18) Taboola announced an offer to acquire Dianomi, expected to complete before the end of 2026, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval.
- [Court orders remedies in the Google ad tech antitrust case](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/justice-department-announces-court-ordered-remedies-in-google-ad-tech-case/): (2026-09-16) The Justice Department said on September 16, 2026 that the court ordered Prebid integrations, publisher data access and a monitor in the Google ad tech case.
- [Zeotap launches Open CDP](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/zeotap-launches-open-cdp/): (2026-09-15) Zeotap launched Open CDP, which runs on Apache Spark and Iceberg in the customer's own lakehouse.
- [Salesforce unveils Koa, a CRM reasoning model for Agentforce](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/salesforce-unveils-koa-a-crm-reasoning-model-for-agentforce/): (2026-09-15) Salesforce introduced Koa on September 15, 2026, its first CRM reasoning model for Agentforce, built on NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Super. Claims and availability.
- [Clay raises $115 million at a $7.1 billion valuation](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/clay-raises-115-million-series-d-at-a-7-1-billion-valuation/): (2026-09-09) Clay announced a $115 million Series D led by Wellington at a $7.1 billion valuation on September 9, 2026, and a $1 million fund for GTM engineers.
- [Klaviyo goes headless and opens its platform to AI agents](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/klaviyo-goes-headless-and-opens-its-platform-to-ai-agents/): (2026-09-09) At K:BOS on September 9, 2026 Klaviyo opened its platform through 260+ MCP tools and 490+ APIs and previewed plain-language SQL in its Data Platform.
- [Google begins moving Dynamic Search Ads to AI Max](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/google-begins-moving-dynamic-search-ads-to-ai-max/): (September 2026) Automatic upgrades from Dynamic Search Ads to AI Max for Search began in September 2026. Google extended the Dynamic Search Ads sunset to February 2027.
- [FTC and 22 states sue Amazon over alleged ad auction surcharges](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/ftc-and-22-states-sue-amazon-over-alleged-ad-auction-surcharges/): (2026-08-31) The FTC and 22 state attorneys general sued Amazon on August 31, 2026, alleging hidden surcharges in its sponsored-ads auctions. The claims and its reply.
- [EU AI Act transparency rules in Article 50 start to apply](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/eu-ai-act-transparency-rules-in-article-50-start-to-apply/): (2026-08-02) The AI Act's Article 50 transparency duties for AI-generated content began to apply on August 2, 2026, with a transition to December 2 for existing systems.
- [Databricks announces CustomerLake, an agentic CDP](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/databricks-announces-customerlake/): (2026-06-16) Databricks announced CustomerLake, an agentic customer data platform inside its lakehouse, in private preview.
- [Sitecore announces its acquisition of Scrunch](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/sitecore-announces-acquisition-of-scrunch/): (2026-06-03) Sitecore announced it is acquiring the AI-visibility company Scrunch. Sitecore did not disclose terms.
- [Google adds generative AI reports and an opt-out to Search Console](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/google-adds-generative-ai-reports-and-an-opt-out-to-search-console/): (2026-06-03) Google added Search Console reports on AI Overviews and AI Mode impressions, plus an opt-out control, announced June 3, 2026 and worldwide from August 31.
- [Salesforce signs an agreement to acquire Contentful](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/salesforce-signs-agreement-to-acquire-contentful/): (June 2026) Salesforce signed a definitive agreement to acquire Contentful, with closing expected in the third quarter of its fiscal year 2027.
- [Fivetran and dbt Labs complete their merger](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/fivetran-and-dbt-labs-complete-merger/): (2026-06-01) Fivetran and dbt Labs completed their all-stock merger on June 1, 2026 and released dbt Core v2.0, dbt State, dbt Wizard and Agents Schema.
- [Google announces Display campaigns are moving into Demand Gen](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/google-moves-display-campaigns-into-demand-gen/): (2026-05-26) Google announced on May 26, 2026 that Display campaigns move into Demand Gen, with the migration due by 2027. What carries over and what does not.
- [Publicis agrees to acquire LiveRamp for about $2.2 billion](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/publicis-agrees-to-acquire-liveramp/): (2026-05-17) Publicis Groupe agreed on May 17, 2026 to buy LiveRamp for $38.50 a share, an enterprise value of $2.167 billion. Shareholders approved on August 17.
- [OpenAI opens a beta self-serve ChatGPT Ads Manager](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/openai-opens-self-serve-chatgpt-ads-beta/): (May 2026) After a pilot that began in February 2026, OpenAI opened a beta self-serve Ads Manager to US businesses, with CPM and CPC buying.
- [Adobe completes its Semrush acquisition](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/adobe-completes-semrush-acquisition/): (2026-04-28) Adobe completed its Semrush acquisition and will unite it with Experience Manager, LLM Optimizer, Commerce, Experience Platform and Brand Concierge.
- [Adobe introduces Brand Intelligence and expands GenStudio at Summit](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/adobe-introduces-brand-intelligence-at-summit-2026/): (2026-04-20) At Adobe Summit on April 20, 2026 Adobe introduced Brand Intelligence, which learns brand rules from reviews, and added agents and workflows to GenStudio.
- [HubSpot launches HubSpot AEO and outcome-priced AI agents](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/hubspot-launches-aeo-and-ai-agents/): (2026-04-14) HubSpot launched HubSpot AEO, a Prospecting Agent at $1 per recommended lead and a Customer Agent at $0.50 per resolution, among 100+ updates.
- [Profound raises a $96 million Series C at a $1 billion valuation](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/profound-raises-96-million-series-c/): (2026-02-24) Profound, an AI-visibility platform, raised $96 million in a round led by Lightspeed, at a $1 billion valuation.
- [European Commission publishes its Digital Omnibus proposals](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/european-commission-publishes-digital-omnibus/): (2025-11-19) The Commission proposed changes to cookie consent, including single-click reject and a six-month pause before re-asking.
- [Salesforce agrees to acquire Informatica for about $8 billion](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/salesforce-agrees-to-acquire-informatica/): (2025-05-27) Salesforce agreed on May 27, 2025 to acquire Informatica for $25 a share, about $8 billion in equity value, and completed it on November 18, 2025.
- [Salesforce unveils Agentforce](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/salesforce-unveils-agentforce/): (2024-09-12) Salesforce introduced Agentforce, a suite of autonomous AI agents for service, sales, marketing and commerce.
- [Google drops its plan to remove third-party cookies from Chrome](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/google-keeps-third-party-cookies-in-chrome/): (2024-07-22) On July 22, 2024 Google said it would not remove third-party cookies from Chrome, offering an informed choice instead; it later dropped the prompt.
- [Klaviyo goes public on the New York Stock Exchange](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/klaviyo-goes-public-on-the-nyse/): (2023-09-20) Klaviyo priced its IPO at $30 a share on September 19, 2023, above its raised range, and began trading on the NYSE as KVYO the next day.
- [OpenAI releases ChatGPT](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/openai-releases-chatgpt/): (2022-11-30) OpenAI released ChatGPT as a research preview on November 30, 2022, the start of AI assistants as a place people ask questions.
- [Intuit agrees to acquire Mailchimp for about $12 billion](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/intuit-agrees-to-acquire-mailchimp/): (2021-09-13) Intuit announced on September 13, 2021 that it would acquire Mailchimp for about $12 billion in cash and stock. The deal closed on November 1, 2021.
- [Apple’s App Tracking Transparency takes effect with iOS 14.5](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/apple-app-tracking-transparency-takes-effect/): (2021-04-26) From April 26, 2021 apps had to ask permission before tracking people across other companies' apps or using the advertising identifier on iOS 14.5.
- [Salesforce agrees to acquire Slack for about $27.7 billion](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/salesforce-agrees-to-acquire-slack/): (2020-12-01) Salesforce signed an agreement on December 1, 2020 to acquire Slack at an enterprise value of about $27.7 billion. It completed on July 21, 2021.
- [Google introduces the new Google Analytics (GA4)](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/google-introduces-google-analytics-4/): (2020-10-14) Google announced the new Google Analytics, built around machine learning and cross-platform measurement.
- [Twilio agrees to acquire Segment for about $3.2 billion](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/twilio-agrees-to-acquire-segment/): (2020-10-12) Twilio agreed on October 12, 2020 to acquire the customer data platform Segment in an all-stock deal valued at about $3.2 billion. It closed in November.
- [Salesforce completes its $15.7 billion Tableau acquisition](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/salesforce-completes-tableau-acquisition/): (2019-08-01) Salesforce closed its $15.7 billion acquisition of the analytics company Tableau, announced in June 2019. Tableau continued under its own brand.
- [Adobe agrees to acquire Marketo for $4.75 billion](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/adobe-agrees-to-acquire-marketo/): (2018-09-20) Adobe announced a definitive agreement to acquire Marketo for $4.75 billion. It completed the acquisition on October 31, 2018.
- [The EU General Data Protection Regulation starts to apply](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/gdpr-starts-to-apply-across-the-eu/): (2018-05-25) The EU's General Data Protection Regulation, in force since 2016, began to apply on May 25, 2018 across the single market, including to marketers.
- [Adobe agrees to acquire Magento Commerce for $1.68 billion](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/adobe-agrees-to-acquire-magento-commerce/): (2018-05-21) Adobe announced on May 21, 2018 that it would acquire Magento Commerce for $1.68 billion, to add commerce to Experience Cloud. It closed on June 18.
- [Salesforce agrees to acquire ExactTarget for about $2.5 billion](https://martechroundup.com/timeline/salesforce-agrees-to-acquire-exacttarget/): (2013-06-04) Salesforce agreed to acquire email and marketing platform ExactTarget for about $2.5 billion ($33.75 per share in cash).

## Events

- [Adobe Summit 2027](https://martechroundup.com/events/adobe-summit-2027/): Adobe Summit 2027 is March 22 to 25 in Las Vegas, with an online component. Training on March 22; the main conference runs March 23 to 25.
- [Advertising Week New York 2026](https://martechroundup.com/events/advertising-week-new-york-2026/): Advertising Week New York runs October 5 to 8, 2026 at The Penn District, with 1,300+ speakers across media, creativity, AI, retail and technology.
- [B2B Marketing Exchange 2027](https://martechroundup.com/events/b2b-marketing-exchange-2027/): B2B Marketing Exchange (B2BMX) 2027 runs February 22 to 24 at the Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, California, powered by Advertising Week.
- [brightonSEO San Diego, September 2027](https://martechroundup.com/events/brightonseo-san-diego-september-2027/): brightonSEO San Diego runs September 9 to 10, 2027. The ticket price on the organiser's page looks like a placeholder.
- [brightonSEO UK, April 2027](https://martechroundup.com/events/brightonseo-uk-april-2027/): brightonSEO UK runs April 15 to 16, 2027 in Brighton. Dates, ticket price listed and the organiser's page.
- [Cannes Lions 2027](https://martechroundup.com/events/cannes-lions-2027/): The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity runs June 21 to 25, 2027 in Cannes, France, with awards, talks and live judging.
- [CES 2027](https://martechroundup.com/events/ces-2027/): CES 2027 runs January 6 to 9, 2027 in Las Vegas and is produced by the Consumer Technology Association. Dates and registration.
- [Content Marketing World 2026](https://martechroundup.com/events/content-marketing-world-2026/): Content Marketing World runs October 5 to 7, 2026 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. Dates, venue and where to register.
- [DMEXCO 2027](https://martechroundup.com/events/dmexco-2027/): DMEXCO 2027 runs September 22 and 23, 2027 at Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany. Dates, organiser and partners.
- [Dreamforce 2027](https://martechroundup.com/events/dreamforce-2027/): Dreamforce 2027 runs September 21 to 23, 2027 in San Francisco and on Salesforce+. Dates, format and registration status.
- [Google Cloud Next 2027](https://martechroundup.com/events/google-cloud-next-2027/): Google Cloud Next 2027 runs April 13 to 15 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, with select programming on April 12. Dates and venue.
- [MAICON 2026: Marketing AI Conference](https://martechroundup.com/events/maicon-2026-marketing-ai-conference/): MAICON 2026, the Marketing AI Conference from SmarterX and the Marketing AI Institute, runs October 13 to 15, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio.
- [MarketingProfs B2B Marketing Forum 2026](https://martechroundup.com/events/marketingprofs-b2b-marketing-forum-2026/): The MarketingProfs B2B Marketing Forum runs November 2 to 4, 2026 at the Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport: two conference days and a workshop day.
- [MarTech Conference (online, November 2026)](https://martechroundup.com/events/martech-conference-online-november-2026/): MarTech's free online conference on November 4, 2026 includes a session on AI and agentic marketing. Live and on demand, with the registration page.
- [NRF 2027: Retail’s Big Show](https://martechroundup.com/events/nrf-2027-retails-big-show/): NRF 2027: Retail's Big Show runs January 10 to 12, 2027 at the Javits Center in New York. Dates, venue and organiser.
- [Scaling AI Live Class (Marketing AI Institute)](https://martechroundup.com/events/marketing-ai-institute-scaling-ai-live-class-2026/): The Marketing AI Institute lists a free 60-minute online Scaling AI Live Class on November 10, 2026. Details and organiser link.
- [Shoptalk Europe 2027](https://martechroundup.com/events/shoptalk-europe-2027/): Shoptalk Europe 2027 runs June 1 to 3, 2027 in Barcelona. Dates, location and the organiser's page.
- [Shoptalk Spring 2027](https://martechroundup.com/events/shoptalk-spring-2027/): Shoptalk Spring 2027 runs March 22 to 24 at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, with 10,000+ retail and brand attendees and 180+ speakers.
- [SMX Advanced San Diego 2027](https://martechroundup.com/events/smx-advanced-san-diego-2027/): SMX Advanced runs March 17 to 19, 2027 at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina, the first of two SMX Advanced events planned for 2027.
- [SMX Next 2026 (online)](https://martechroundup.com/events/smx-next-2026-online/): SMX Next 2026 is a free online search marketing event on November 18 and 19, programmed by Search Engine Land: SEO, PPC, AI and GEO.
- [SXSW 2027](https://martechroundup.com/events/sxsw-2027/): SXSW 2027 is scheduled for March 15 to 21, 2027 in Austin, Texas. Dates, location and the organiser's page.
- [The MarTech Summit Berlin 2027](https://martechroundup.com/events/the-martech-summit-berlin-2027/): The MarTech Summit Berlin is a one-day conference on February 25, 2027 at the Grand Hyatt Berlin on martech, data, AI and customer experience.
- [UNBOUND 2027 (HubSpot)](https://martechroundup.com/events/unbound-2027-hubspot/): HubSpot's UNBOUND 2027, the renamed INBOUND, runs September 8 to 10 in Boston. Dates, pass price and registration notes.
- [Web Summit 2026, Lisbon](https://martechroundup.com/events/web-summit-2026-lisbon/): Web Summit 2026 takes place November 9 to 12 in Lisbon, Portugal, at the MEO Arena, covering technology, AI, startups and investment.

## Tools

- [Ad tech vendor security vetting checklist](https://martechroundup.com/tools/ad-tech-vendor-security-vetting-checklist/): A checklist for vetting buyers and partners in your programmatic supply chain, prompted by the Citizen Lab AdFection report.
- [AI agent and crawler traffic policy checklist](https://martechroundup.com/tools/ai-agent-and-crawler-traffic-policy-checklist/): Questions to answer before deciding which AI crawlers and agents may reach your site, forms and checkout.
- [AI usage credit and spend cap checklist](https://martechroundup.com/tools/ai-usage-credit-and-spend-cap-checklist/): A checklist for budgets and limits when your CRM or marketing platform bills AI features by credits, such as HubSpot.
- [Black Friday Google Ads readiness checklist](https://martechroundup.com/tools/black-friday-google-ads-readiness-checklist/): A checklist for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2026 on bidding, spend controls and feeds, drawn from October 2026 changes.
- [Connected TV buying questions checklist](https://martechroundup.com/tools/connected-tv-buying-questions-checklist/): Questions to put to a CTV seller or DSP before committing budget: availability, data fees, measurement and thresholds.
- [Consent and preference centre audit checklist](https://martechroundup.com/tools/consent-and-preference-centre-audit-checklist/): A checklist to test whether your consent flow and preference centre capture what you need and what the rules require.
- [Contact centre AI pilot checklist](https://martechroundup.com/tools/contact-centre-ai-pilot-checklist/): Questions to answer before piloting voice or chat AI in a contact centre: scope, customers, control and platform costs.
- [Incrementality test planning template](https://martechroundup.com/tools/incrementality-test-planning-template/): A planning template for a holdout or geo test that finance and marketing agree on before it starts, with thresholds set in advance.
- [Martech Stack Builder](https://martechroundup.com/tools/stack-builder/): Choose your business type and tools to see which martech layers you cover, where the gaps are and which integrations to plan. Nothing is stored.
- [Martech vendor acquisition response checklist](https://martechroundup.com/tools/martech-vendor-acquisition-response-checklist/): A 30-day checklist for when a vendor in your stack announces an acquisition, with Braze and Fin as recent examples.
- [My Stack: Your Martech Roundup](https://martechroundup.com/tools/my-stack/): Pick your role, industry and tools to get the latest martech stories ranked by how closely they touch your stack. Saved only in your browser.
- [PHP emergency patch checklist for marketing and SEO teams](https://martechroundup.com/tools/php-emergency-patch-checklist-for-marketing-sites/): A checklist for marketing and SEO teams patching the critical PHP flaws without losing search visibility. Not security advice.

## Topics

- [Advertising](https://martechroundup.com/advertising/): 35 articles
- [Search](https://martechroundup.com/search/): 33 articles
- [AI & Agents](https://martechroundup.com/ai/): 31 articles
- [GEO](https://martechroundup.com/geo/): 29 articles
- [SEO](https://martechroundup.com/seo/): 27 articles
- [Marketing Automation](https://martechroundup.com/marketing-automation/): 27 articles
- [AdTech](https://martechroundup.com/adtech/): 27 articles
- [Customer Experience](https://martechroundup.com/customer-experience/): 27 articles
- [CRM](https://martechroundup.com/crm/): 27 articles
- [Data](https://martechroundup.com/data/): 26 articles
- [Marketing Operations](https://martechroundup.com/marketing-operations/): 26 articles
- [Commerce](https://martechroundup.com/commerce/): 24 articles
- [Analytics](https://martechroundup.com/analytics/): 23 articles
- [RevOps](https://martechroundup.com/revops/): 22 articles

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- [XML sitemap](https://martechroundup.com/sitemap_index.xml): every indexable URL with its last-modified date.
- [News feed (RSS)](https://martechroundup.com/feed/): the latest articles.
- [People](https://martechroundup.com/people/): The contributors and executives named across the coverage.
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